A Hero's Shadow Chapter 1
by XShatteredNightmareX
Summary: It's been a few years since the events of "Twilight Princess" and Link is leaving a content and peaceful life in his home village of Ordon. But when he begins to have nightmares of the evil he never thought he'd have to face, will his loved ones bet at risk and what is this new enemy's desire?


_The shadow that strides behind and never leaves._

_The eternal darkness that peaks behind your unwary shoulder._

_I am these things, all and more. _

"Link! Wake up!" Cried a voice that Link imagined was the caw of a rooster, only it resembled that of a human voice.

Link's eyes opened, they were greeted garishly by a few slants of obnoxious light. He groaned and sat up to gaze out his window.

"It's the mid-afternoon! It's your turn to cut the grass today!" Cried Talo, a young boy from the village he knew so well.

Link groaned. "I'll be there in a moment." He said groggily and brought a hand to his eyes to rub the grit out of them.

He climbed out of bed and down the ladder. After quickly getting dressed into his familiar green tunic, he opened the door of his house, yet again to be greeted with another unwelcome slant of light.

"Erg." Link groaned. A part of him still wished he was in bed. He could have slept all day if he had wanted too.

The sun shining on his face didn't help much. It made him feel warm and thus, sleepy. He raised his arm to shield his squinting eyes from the garish light.

He knew at this moment that today would be worse than most.

He practically stumbled into the village. The townsfolk had been up long before Link. And he couldn't blame them, they were farmers and thus being early to rise was in their blood.

But not Link. He had the blood of a warrior, of an adventurer. This life style was not for him.

It had been a few some years since Link had defeated Ganondorf and watched his friend Midna depart into the Twilight Realm forever.

Zelda was in her element, ruling Hyrule as the fair and just ruler she was. Leaving Link stuck in the village to tend to the gardens and such.

Truthfully, he missed it. He missed the life of the Hero. He would give nearly anything to go back to it.

But then again, it was nice to be at peace again. But relaxation had its limits and Link was beginning to feel the weary withdrawals of what it was to be the chosen hero. His body yearned for that rush of excitement when he took that sword out of its hilt, that adrenaline pump when he jumped on Epona's back to race against the wind through the vast fields of Hyrule.

But a quiet life, was a peaceful life….as he always used to say back when he thought that this was the only life for him.

He supposed there was no helping it. He needed to get to work.

Link took a few tools from Fado's house and tended to the grasses, which had grown far too long for anyone's taste. He yawned, what did it have to be him…on this day? He didn't want to be out here….he wanted to sleep.

Finally, when he had cut all of the pastures and small fields of grass, he took a seat on the river bank and laid down on his back.

He shifted comfortably, loving the warmth of the sun on his face. The blue pool's that were his eyes, closed slowly and he was whisked away into dreamland.

He was sitting on a log next to lake Hylia, his fishing rod out and bobbing up down in the lake's calm waters. Link was contently chewing on a string of hay as he fished.

When suddenly something yanked so hard on the opposite end of his pole that caused it to fly right out of Link's hands. The young man gasped in confusion.

He jumped off of the Log and waded into the water a bit, trying to see what could have possibly dragged his pole in.

As he was looking down into the dark waters, two gloved hands reached out and grabbed Link by the strap on his tunic and pulled him in as well. Link let out a scream as he was pulled under. His cries for help were rendered pointless as his voice sounded incredibly muffled under the waves.

Link could only watch as the light of the sun above got farther and farther away as he was dragged further and further down. Eventually, whatever grabbed onto him let go and Link took this chance to swim to the top. But as he looked down (And he don't know what dared him too) a pair of red eyes starred at him from the depths. This compelled Link to swim faster and finally he reached the surface.

He gasped and let the sweet air nourish and fill his lungs. When he opened his eyes he recognized that he was not in lake Hylia, or in the Lanayaru province at all.

He was back in Ordon, in the river.

He felt two pairs of strong arms lift him out of the water. "Did ya fall in?" He heard one of the male villagers ask him. "He'll be alright. He just swallowed some water." said another.

Link coughed and sputtered some more, but he was alive.

"I-I'll be okay." Link said. What startled and confused him more than ever was how on earth did he even get /in/ the river in the first place? As far as he knew he was laying quite a ways from it. He must have accidentally rolled in his sleep but…it was so weird. The difference between his dream and what was actually happening, was not very much.

Later in the evening, when Link was more present to the world around him and his thoughts were more grounded, he pondered the day's events with maturity.

As a Hero who fought evil, he wasn't allowed to believe in coincidences. The shadow of doubt that clouded his mind ever since he had that dream never left his thoughts.

Link went to bed, his head weary of dark thoughts. He feared that tonight he would have another dream like the one that day. He could only hope for otherwise.

In the midst of the night, Link was peacefully and dreamlessly sleeping…when he heard the faintest of a nose. A creak, the faintest whisper.

His eyes shot open. Was someone in his house? The only place where he truly felt safe?

He had to investigate. He jumped out of bed, wearing a light garb consisting of a white shirt and pants. He grabbed his lantern off of the shelve and lit it quickly. He looked around his house cautiously, his keen eyes looking for any signs of an intruder.

He looked over at the one place that he didn't go too often. It was a place of darkness, every child's nightmare.

The basement.


End file.
